imaging linux

[timcan]

Hi, I have ubuntu 8.10 installed on a partition of a second hard drive and have been using image for windows to make backup images of the linux drive(from within windows). Is there a program that is better/easier to use that runs inside the linux distro? Just curious what other linux users use to backup.
thanks in advance,tim

[FastGame]

In Ubuntu and Linux Mint I use Remastersys, works great. I also use MkliveCD (about the same as Remastersys) in PCLinuxOS and its excellent.

http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/remastersys.html

[timcan]

thanks for the reply and link. I'll read on it.:)

[Kerodo]

I use Clonezilla for both Linux and Win. It's a little slow and the interface is a bit non-intuitive, but it gets the job done without issues...

[Mrkvonic]

CloneZilla is slow if you use max. compression, which is what I do. Indeed, takes a bit time, but usually brings down the image to about 1/4 of what it normally is when deployed.
Mrk

[Ocky]

I understand the backup function of Remastersys, but what is the point of
the dist function ? Surely I can't just give the live cd/dvd to someone who
has completely different hardware, as the dist backup is for my computer
sans the /home contents. ???
EDIT:-
The live cd/dvd I give to someone is just for demonstration on their PC's
- not for install ?
Using backup function will only restore (install) to my source PC for the same reason
viz. totally different hardware on another laptop or PC.
Will all 3rd party apps be saved and functional upon actual install ?

I think CloneZilla will be much easier for me to understand and use without problems.

[Mrkvonic]

Yes you can. Dist will remove personal data from home. Second, the distro will work, but the specific drivers won't, like Nvidia, ATI etc. They will have to reinstall these drivers or install drivers that match their hardware.
Mrk

[Ocky]

-{ Quote: "Yes you can. Dist will remove personal data from home. Second, the distro will work, but the specific drivers won't, like Nvidia, ATI etc. They will have to reinstall these drivers or install drivers that match their hardware.
Mrk" }-
OK good. When I get a laptop sometime later this year I assume I could just
use the backup function for my existing distro set-up and install to the new laptop,
then just reinstall the graphics card driver plus maybe the wireless
card driver. If this is so it will be a valuable time saver. :)
Thanks.

[Mrkvonic]

Yup, that's it. But the best thing is to test and see the results for yourself.
Mrk

[rlong]

I simply use a LiveCD and dd as follows:


sudo -i
dd if=/dev/sda of=/mnt/sdb1/backup_img.dd

This assumes that sda is the HDD device you want to image and sdb1 is the primary partition of your removable storage. The HDD must be unmounted. This will backup the entire drive (all Windows and Linux partitions, grub, etc.) which is desirable to running separate backup apps within each OS. If you want to backup just your Linux partition then you would use the above command with the partition number after the device such as sda3, or sda4. Also, check out gparted. It's a great tool for working with partitions from a LiveCD such as Knoppix. For example, you can use it to easily resize the primary partition to encompass unallocated space if you restore it to a disk that is larger than the original.

[sukarof]

Unfortunately Shadowprotect cant take "proper" images of Linux partitions (ie wont exclude empty space from the image) and sbackup in ubuntu didnt seem to work for me (it started and claimed to work but no disk activity was seen for 20 minutes so I concluded that it didnt work properly)

So I went back to my old IFW/IFD, or rather Image for Linux.
I really didnt think I would use it after I discovered Shadowprotect couple of years ago but it came to my rescue.. With my ordernumber I could just download the latest version for free even though I havent used it for a couple of years
(I send good thoughts and karma to Terabyte for selling it for a one time fee only and no silly activation stuff :thumb: )

IFL does its job and takes ultra-reliable images but it would be nice to do images from within Ubuntu while Im doing other stuff.

[tlu]

-{ Quote: "Unfortunately Shadowprotect cant take "proper" images of Linux partitions (ie wont exclude empty space from the image) and sbackup in ubuntu didnt seem to work for me (it started and claimed to work but no disk activity was seen for 20 minutes so I concluded that it didnt work properly)

So I went back to my old IFW/IFD, or rather Image for Linux.
" }-

Acronis TI also works with Linux partitions. So far it was only necessary for me to restore single partitions and that worked well.

[sukarof]

-{ Quote: "Acronis TI also works with Linux partitions. So far it was only necessary for me to restore single partitions and that worked well." }-

Can you do images while booted into Ubuntu with Acronis? Or do you have to boot with a cd to make the images and incremental's?

[tlu]

-{ Quote: "Can you do images while booted into Ubuntu with Acronis? Or do you have to boot with a cd to make the images and incremental's?" }-

I'm using a boot CD, and I never make incrementals ;)

[Mrkvonic]

I is agrees, full backup ... live Cd ... best way.
Mrk

[Ocky]

-{ Quote: "In Ubuntu and Linux Mint I use Remastersys, works great. I also use MkliveCD (about the same as Remastersys) in PCLinuxOS and its excellent.

http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/remastersys.html" }-

Tell me more before I try .. please.
1. Will it only backup /home and / (in backup mode), ignoring any other
partitions made when first installed Ubuntu ? (eg. My separate /boot part.)
2. When restoring can one size the partitions as usual provided they are
larger than the space occupied by data ?
3. On restoring from the backup can I make an additional partition like
/backups (as I have currently) ?
4. What happens if I install to a new machine that has Vista (or Win 7) on it
whereas the image was taken from a dual boot XP ? The Grub situation.
Repair Grub from live CD ?
5. Why is install icon shown with lock emblem in Mrk's tutorial ?

Still have a long, long way to go and not too much spare time, so thanks
in advance for any clarifications.
EDIT:-
Some further reading has answered most questions. Apparently /boot/grub is excluded from remastersys.conf.
Also fstab is freshly written by the installation.
So, I will soon try it out and test in Vbox.

[raakii]

Does Drive sna pahot work well with linux , need some information about this.:-\

[clansman77]

yes drivesnapshot also works well with linux.i have imaged and restored my home and root partitions couple of times.i did my imaging and restoring while booted into windows though.

[raakii]

thanks clansmann.

[Ocky]

OK, I have tried Remastersys and must say, what a thrill to see all
my stuff right there in VBox and in Live DVD. Opted for Backup mode
excluding videos, VirtualBox and several other folders. An .iso of 1.6 GB
was successfully created and then loaded in VBox.

Some questions remain.

Is there a way to get emerald to work in VBox ?
( I assume that there would not be a problem when installing to HDD,
after enabling the video driver.)

Silly question. Is it possible to install Guest Additions in VBox when a
remastersys made .iso is loaded in VBox ?

( The Live DVD booted with the same parameters used for my original
install of Hardy viz. xforcevesa and all_generic_ide.
Everything was fine except that on shutdown the wrong CD-Rom tray opened and I had to
force remove the DVD from the other one.)

Regards.